1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a computerized product catalogues system. The invention relates more particularly to a method and apparatus for interactive sourcing and specifying of products having desired structural attributes and/or solution functionalities.
2. Background of the Invention
Product catalogues typically have been provided in the form of printed volumes. Such printed catalogues are widely used for identifying and selecting products and/or services having desired attributes known to the user. A simple form of a publication used to accomplish these purposes is a business telephone directory, such as the Yellow Pages, which lists businesses according to predetermined categories of the products or services they provide, such as xe2x80x9cpumps.xe2x80x9d Although that publication helps a user identify providers or manufacturers of a known product or service, the information provided about specific products is located only in advertisements, and is often missing, incomplete, or potentially biased.
Another, more sophisticated, format is exemplified by the widely used Thomas Register, a printed catalogue which lists a plurality of subcategories under xe2x80x9cpump,xe2x80x9d such as xe2x80x9chydraulic,xe2x80x9d and further subcategories under xe2x80x9chydraulic,xe2x80x9d such as xe2x80x9csubmersible.xe2x80x9d Such catalogue systems, known as xe2x80x9cfixed hierarchies,xe2x80x9d have advantages in that the user can proceed from general to specific categories, and may find complete product descriptions, advertisements, photographs, and the like, at the point where the desired product is identified.
Existing electronic catalogues provide the advantage of faster searches through fixed hierarchy catalogue systems. One prior art method, taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,784, discloses a relational database system that links product components, of pre-defined, standard component types, with attributes having specification values and units of measure, in a three-tiered hierarchical data structure. The relational database system allows users to search for specific products based on component criteria, using a series of tables emphasizing consistency and data redundancy, and further provides for mathematical additions of product component measurements by using units of measure and a measurement group table.
Another prior art method, taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,425, similarly depends on a fixed hierarchy, and discloses an electronic catalogue and associated method for creating, maintaining, and publishing multiple renditions of electronic and printed catalogues using a single product database. The complex data structure that was disclosed relies upon a KnowledgeBase which includes a glossary used to search for a particular product or group of products by fixed phrases linked to product characteristics. The product database includes SKUs, each of which corresponds to a product or a component of a product, and the user may search for products or groups of products by SKU. SKU is a common abbreviation for Stock Keeping Unit, which is generally a number associated with a product for inventory purposes.
A shortcoming of such fixed hierarchy catalogue systems is that the user seeking information is locked into thinking within the boundaries of someone else""s conception of a standard hierarchy. Prior art product indices may be frustrating to a user who has not preconceptualized his or her search along the lines of their fixed hierarchies.
The present invention addresses this shortcoming by providing both (1) a xe2x80x9cstructural attribute indexxe2x80x9d which allows the user to find product information easily and efficiently, without locking him or her into thinking along the lines of a preconceived fixed hierarchy; and (2) a xe2x80x9csolution functionality index,xe2x80x9d an intelligent search system that allows a user to search for products by function, helping the user to go beyond his or her initial conceptions to discover an alternative or novel solution to an engineering challenge.
The structural attribute index of the present invention provides an advantage over the prior art in that the structural attribute index is adaptable rather than rigid, allowing the user to search in his or her own words, and to locate any listing included in the database, no matter which product attribute the user may start from. It does not require the user to xe2x80x9clearn its language,xe2x80x9d that is, to follow a predetermined hierarchy organized by someone whose thought processes may bear no resemblance to those of the user.
A further advantage of the present invention is that product catalogues are completely indexed by engineers who understand the intricacies of the projects undertaken by users of the present invention, and who provide an engineering foundation during the indexing procedure. This serves to reduces the likelihood of erroneous hits, a common impediment to online searching.
The solution functionality index of the present invention, enabled by the aforementioned built-in engineering knowledge, provides yet another advantage over the prior art by allowing a user to search for potential alternative products. The solution functionality index offers the user the most relevant product selections where the user may not know whether there actually exists any product that can do what the user needs it to; whether there is something close; or whether a particular engineering challenge could be solved in another way altogether. The solution functionality index responds to user inputs by identifying the available products that might answer such needs.
It is a principal object of the present invention to improve the organization, entry, and retrieval of product information. Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the detailed description of a preferred embodiment, which follows.
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for interactive sourcing and specifying of products having desired structural attributes and/or solution functionalities. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for organizing and retrieving graphical and/or text information pertaining to products, comprising providing a computerized database; entering into said database graphical and/or text information from product catalogues pertaining to the products; determining and entering into the database structural attribute classification values and solution functionality classification values of the products; providing means for a user to interactively select and retrieve desired graphical and/or text information from the database by dynamically displaying only relevant classification values as the user selects desired structural attribute classification values or desired solution functionality classification values, until the user chooses to select products or to view information associated with selected products; providing means for a user to view information associated with selected products; and providing means for a user who has selected a product to view information associated with other products having similar solution functionality.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for identifying a product or device having desired attributes or functionality, comprising providing a web server on which accesses a computerized database, in which the database comprises graphical images of catalogue pages or portions of catalogue pages; coordinates and classifications of the pages and/or portions; device identification, structural attributes, and solution functionality of the product associated with the said pages and/or portions. The web server is programmed to provide display information when accessed by a client web browser or software application, to provide selection options, and to compute responses upon receipt of selections from the client. A set of categories having an initial set of selectable structural attribute values and/or solution functionality values is displayed on a client browser or software application, and upon selection of one or more desired values under associated categories, a revised set of selectable values is displayed, meeting the criteria of the selected structural attributes and/or solution functionalities of the initial set. Upon selection of any additional values from the revised set, one or more further revised sets of selectable values are displayed. At the request of the client, a list of all products meeting the criteria of all the selected values is displayed, wherein upon selection by the user of a product from said list of products, a list of classifications of pages or portions of product catalogue pages for the selected product is displayed, and upon selection by the client of a classification from said list of classifications, the portion of the product catalogue page meeting the classification criteria is displayed. Upon request by the client to see alternatives to a product previously selected, a new list of selectable solution functionality values is displayed, corresponding to those of the previously selected product.
In still another aspect, the invention comprises a computer implemented system for identifying desired products and viewing information associated with the products, comprising an electronic computer having a processor and a database, in which the database has graphical images of catalogue pages or portions of catalogue pages; coordinates and classification of the pages and/or portions; device identification, structural attribute values, and solution functionality values (consisting of function, object, and method) of the product associated with the pages and/or portions. The system is adapted to display a search option screen comprising one or more selectable categories and one or more selectable structural attribute and/or solution functionality values under those categories, and upon selection of one or more structural attribute and/or solution functionality values within the categories, to display a subset of values which meet the criteria of the selected values. The system is also adapted to display at the request of a client a list of all products which meet the criteria of the selected value or values, and upon selection by the client of one or more products from said list, to display a list of classifications of the portions of product catalogue pages for the selected product(s), and upon selection by the client of a classification from said list of classifications, to display the portion(s) of the product catalogue pages meeting the classification criteria. The system is further adapted to display information associated with alternative products having similar solution functionality values to a product previously selected.